


The Host

by supernaturallylost



Series: Rehabilitation [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Angst, Homeless Castiel, M/M, Malnutrition, Non-Graphic Description of Illness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-09 10:21:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4344794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supernaturallylost/pseuds/supernaturallylost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Exhausted and overwhelmed, Castiel is brought to Dean Winchester's apartment for dinner. All he can think about, however, is how nice it would be to take a shower.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Host

“Knock, knock, Sammy,” Dean called into the apartment. “I’m back.”

Dean opened the door fully and waited for Cas to cross the threshold before closing the door. He kicked off his shoes while holding three bags of groceries, looked at Cas shiver, and walked over to turn the thermostat up. Footsteps became audible from the other end of the apartment as a voice spoke teasingly.

“How much time did you actually spend on the bus?” the voice was laughing. “You were gone a few hours, so I’m guessing you spent at least some of that on the bus, right?”

Cas took a deep breath and switched the lilies into one hand and his rose into the other. Finally, a very tall, muscular man appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. He was covered in sweat with a towel wrapped around his neck. He grinned widely at his brother before he realized there was a stranger present. Quickly, he shook the sweaty brown hair from his eyes.

“Hello,” Sam asked.

“Sammy, this is Cas,” Dean said softly. He used his tone as best as possible to show that Cas wasn’t ready to be joked around with too much yet. Sam seemed to understand, as he only stepped forward and reached out a hand. “Cas, this is my brother Sam.”

Castiel half nodded and half bowed his head with a timid smile. He held out the tiger lilies and asked quietly, “Do you have a vase for these flowers, Sam?”

Sam smiled, a million questions in his eyes. “Yeah, I’ll go find one. Thank you, Cas.”

Sam received the flowers with an appreciative nod, but his eyes landed on Dean after he noticed the burns and scars on the stranger’s hands. Dean just shook his head.

“Dinner,” Dean spoke to Cas while Sam retreated to the kitchen, “will take about an hour. I know you ate a granola bar on the walk here, but do you want anything else to snack on? Or something to drink, maybe?”

Castiel shook his head. When his mouth opened, he very nearly spoke. Just before anything came out, however, he closed his mouth again. Dean tilted his head.

“What is it?” he asked softly, leaning down to force Cas into eye contact.

“I’d,” Cas started. His voice stopped several times before the sentence finished, as if his mouth had suddenly gone dry. “I’d like to wash my face.”

Dean’s eyes grew wide for a split second before he recovered his composure and smiled.

“Of course,” he said. “You could take a shower, if you want. Like I said, dinner will take a while anyway.”

Castiel bit his lip. “Are you sure?”

Dean smiled, walked forward, and nodded down the hallway.

“The bathroom’s the first door on the right. Give me a sec to set these groceries down and I’ll help you.”

Sam stood up from the other end of the kitchen, a vase in hand. The tiger lilies were resting on the table, their stems freshly cut to better absorb water. Slyly, Sam looked up and noticed the rose in Cas’s hand.

“Do you want a vase for that, Cas?” Sam asked gently.

Cas’s grip tightened on the flower, despite the thorns. Perceptively, Dean interjected.

“Good idea, Sam. We can set the vase in the bathroom while you shower, just so it stays hydrated while you wash,” Dean nodded. He watched Cas’s grip loosen slightly.

With the groceries laid out on the table and the rose in its own small vase, Dean led Castiel down the hallway toward their bathroom. He flipped on the light, walked to the closet to grab a towel, and opened the shower curtain so he could explain the controls.

Before he could speak, however, he saw the expression on Cas’s face.

He dropped the towel on the closed lid of the toilet and walked over to take the shaking vase from Cas’s hand. He set it on the shelf by the sink and reached back to put hands on each of Cas’s arms. He rubbed Cas’s arms and shoulders.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered.

Cas stared around the room, seeing the clean white tiles, the fluffy blue towels, and the large hair products lined up on a shelf in the shower. His eyes watered and he held his breath as long as he could.

“Cas, what is it?” Dean asked again, pressing on Cas’s shoulders to help ground him.

With shaking breaths, Cas finally said, “It’s big.”

Dean half smiled.

“They don’t have bathrooms where you live?” he tried to joke.

Cas looked up with terrified eyes. He scratched his thumbs and shook his head. Dean’s shoulders fell as he realized what that must mean.

“Where do you live, Castiel?” he asked seriously. He slowed his hands until they were resting gently on Cas’s upper arms.

Cas looked up tearfully, meeting Dean’s gaze with equal parts fear and defiance.

“Cas,” Dean whispered. “Are you homeless?”

Cas said nothing.

“It’s okay,” Dean said. “Listen, you don’t have to talk about it, okay? But if you want to, I’ll listen.”

Cas bit his tongue and looked over at his rose on the shelf.

“How about that shower?” Dean smiled tentatively.

With a nod, Cas stepped forward, listened to Dean showing how the shower works as well as the trick for perfect water pressure, and waited for Dean to walk to the door.

“I’ll set some of my clothes out for you,” Dean said. “We can wash yours, if you’d like.”

Castiel nodded.

“Thank you.”

With a smile, Dean left the room, retrieved a set of clothes from his dresser, and walked back into the bathroom.

“Here’s the…” Dean stopped and stared at the completely naked man. The man’s ribs were visible. He was so thin that Dean’s first thought was whether medical attention was necessary.

“Thank you, Dean,” Cas said, taking the clothes gently from Dean’s hands.

“Sure,” Dean nodded, blinking quickly and forcing himself to smile. “Take as long as you need.”

Cas smiled, nodded, and closed the bathroom door.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please let me know if you have any comments!
> 
> Here is some information on malnutrition if you're interested in what do do if it is extreme:  
> http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Malnutrition/pages/treatment.aspx


End file.
